After a long wait, the Sandiganbayan cleared Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on 15 counts of graft on Friday, marking his vindication in a decade-old pork barrel case.

Enrile, thus, has been acquitted of complaints against him related to the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), which the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in 2013.

The PDAF or pork barrel was allocated to all members of Congress. It was a lump-sum, discretionary fund intended to finance legislators’ pet projects.

Enrile’s exoneration came more than 10 years after he was indicted by the Ombudsman, who accused him of siphoning P172.8 million from his PDAF to bogus non-governmental organizations (NGOs) created by Janet Lim Napoles in exchange for kickbacks.

In a statement exclusive to DAILY TRIBUNE, Enrile said he thanked “the Lord foremost for this vindication and also the honorable justices of the Sandiganbayan who carefully studied the evidence and tried the case with fairness and discernment.”

He expressed elation that the acquittal covered both the criminal and civil aspects of the case.

It finally put “to rest years of pain, misunderstanding, and injustice,” he said.

Moreover, the veteran public servant said the decision reaffirmed the public’s faith in the rule of law and the integrity of our judicial system.

“May it serve as a reminder that truth and justice, though sometimes delayed, will always prevail,” he added.

Gigi Reyes cleared

Aside from the ex-senator, the Sandiganbayan also acquitted Napoles and Enrile’s chief of staff, Gigi Reyes, citing the prosecution’s failure to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt. They were also acquitted of plunder in October last year, along with Enrile.